Image 01 Image 03

2018 Elections Tag

President Trump needs to keep both the House and the Senate in order to fulfill even more of his campaign promises and to get more of his agenda passed.  However, things have not been going well for the GOP in special elections since Trump's own election. Recognizing how important Congressional majorities are to his Make America Great Again agenda, President Trump intervened in Nevada, convincing Senator Dean Heller's primary challenger to drop out so that Heller can focus on beating the Democrat without first getting beaten up by his own party's primary candidate.

During a forum in India, failed Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton lashed out at those in flyover country, implying we hate black people, and stated that women who did not vote for her did so because their husbands told them to. No, Hillary. I didn't vote for you because you're a horrible person and candidate. She received backlash from the right, but now Democrats and even her former aides have come out against her comments.

Earlier this week Senate Democrats introduced a tax plan designed to show what Democrats can be expected to do should they win back majorities in Congress. Their press release refers to their avoidance of "gimmicks and giveaways"; this appears to be a reference to the bonuses, pay raises, and private sector investment and job creation afforded by the new tax law.  All of which, the Democrat proposal would roll back.

Politico stated it perfectly: "Dan Lipinski is the kind of candidate Democrats need more of for the party to win the House in November. But the national Democratic Party is refusing to endorse him." Lipinski, a pro-life Blue Dog Democrat, has represented Illinois's 3rd district for seven terms. Activist Marie Newman, whom The Independent described as "a decidedly Bernie Sanders-styled progressive," has challenged him with a platform more aligned with the party. So why would the Democratic Party turn its back on an incumbent? The abortion industry? Purity tests? Either way, this move against a popular incumbent shows that the Democratic Party remains in disarray despite their talk of taking over the House.

As the Democratic Party lurches leftward and adopts a distinctly socialist stance, its political center has also shifted left.  Amazingly, this new Democratic Party considers among its centrists those figures we tend to think of as radical leftists:  Obama, Hillary, and to a lesser extent Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). Figures once considered fringe even among the left are now hailed as the voice of the party; these figures include self-proclaimed socialist Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and radical progressive Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).  Sanders and more recently Warren have been strong proponents of single-payer and "free" college.  Thanks in large part to Bernie, much of the left, the Democrat base, thinks of itself as "Democratic Socialist."

Bill Nelson, the Democrat Senator from Florida, seems to think the gun control debate is going to help his party in the midterms. Gun control is normally a loser issue, but you have to understand that when Nelson says 'gun control debate' what he really means is the coordinated smear campaign against Republicans and the NRA that began with CNN's town hall event.

A new theater has opened up in the great Pennsylvania Redistricting Battle of 2018, with Republicans filing a federal lawsuit to halt court-ordered redistricting that could cost the GOP four seats in the House this November. On January 22, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court declared that the state's Congressional map, which had been in place since 2011, violated the state constitution. The Republican legislature and Democratic governor were directed to agree on a new map. They failed to do so, and on February 19, the court adopted a new Congressional map devised by Stanford professor Nathaniel Persily.

Democrat Sara Jacobs, 28, has the opportunity to become the youngest congresswoman, but she has come under fire due to her "crusty, old Marine" comment she made during an interview. She denies it was toward her opponent, but even then, it doesn't bode well for her since the 49th district, which she wants to represent, has the West Coast's largest Marine base.

On February 19, 2018, the majority Democrat members of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court imposed a new congressional district map that was very Democrat friendly, likely swinging 4-5 seats to Democrats. It could be the difference between Democrats taking control of the U.S. House or not in the 2018 midterms. The map became so Democrat-friendly after a series of decisions as to placement of boundaries that helped Democrats. Nate Cohn at The NY Times described it this way:

Republicans currently hold a slim majority—51/49—in the U. S. Senate and are eager to retain their majority in this year's midterms. To that end, they have recruited current Representative Kevin Cramer (ND) to run for the Senate against incumbent Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D). This is a big deal because Cramer is considered the best challenger to Heitkamp in this pro-Trump state, but previously had declined to run.

Less than two years ago, Hillary Clinton was the star of the show at the Democratic National Convention. Former President Bill Clinton was an honored guest who got rock star treatment. Now that the party has embraced the #MeToo movement and even jettisoned Al Franken, there's no room for Bill on the stage.